Hoiw Does Immigration Count The Days?

[Sunny Valentine]

As far as I know both the entry and the exit day count for determining the 30 Day period for a stamp for those passport holders of 41 (?) countries.

Now, suppose the following route:

Enter Thailand Oct 1st. Get stamped until October 30th.

Visa run on October 30th. Get stamped until November 28th.

Visa run on November 28th. Get stamped until December 27th.

On December 27th you are in Thailand for 88 days. Will they allow you another stamp for 3 days, as the rule is 90 Days?

Another different example:

Enter Thailand October 1st. Exit October 20th. -> 20 Days

Enter Thailand November 10th. Exit November 29 -> 20 Days

Enter Thailand December 15th. Exit December 29th -> 15 Days

Enter Thailand January 5th. Exit Thailand January 24th -> 20 Days

Now:

You have used up 75 out of 90 Days for the period of 180 Days, starting from October 1st.

In case you enter Thailand on March 12th now, what would you get?

15 Days, carrying you through to March 26th, the end of the 180 Day cycle?

Or rather 30 Days, as the days after March 26th will be counted in the next cycle, as it is over 180 Days from the first entry?

Sunny

Edited October 6, 2006 by Sunny Valentine

[britmaveric]

My understanding they don't count days - just 3 entries in 90days.

[summerT]

Very interesting post doubt you'll get a conclusive answer to that one, what your asking is a valid point, will they stamp you with 30 days, with only 2 days left till you hit 90, hhhmmm..

[summerT]

Sorry brit posted before i read your answer, that does make sense i guess, perhaps thats how they're gonna play it. but it that case its 3 stamps not days. Someone high up needs to make up they're minds.

[lopburi3]

Days are counted per regulations published in Order 608/2549 . From first entry on visa free entry you are allowed 90 days total in six months. At 88 days you should get a 2 day stamp. At 75 days you should get a 15 day stamp.

[summerT]

Thats gonna be a nightmare for the officials working at the airport and boarders, because I think at the moment they have one stamp dated for 30 days, 90 and what ever, that means for each person coming in on a 30 dayer they will need to check all previous stamps within the last 180 days work out the number of days your allowed then ajust and stamp each time, my god I hope they have some seperate ques for the v.o.a's, I know its not hours per person but its gonna mount up. They will be getting pissed off with that pretty soon.

[karazyal]

My understanding they don't count days - just 3 entries in 90days.

I hope I am wrong, but this is my understanding also - that they only count the number of 30 day entries in a passport during a 6 months period!

Often I will pop over to Thailand for a week or two from the Philippines or when I start my visit to Thailand first, I will visit second country and then return to Thailand for a couple days and fly home. In six months I may have five or six 30 day permission stamps in my passport BUT for a total of less than 50 or 60 days in Thailand. To me this means I have to stay away from Thailand for 90 days or pay for a visa from some embassy.

Have I got it correct?

[tropo]

My understanding they don't count days - just 3 entries in 90days.

I hope I am wrong, but this is my understanding also - that they only count the number of 30 day entries in a passport during a 6 months period!

Often I will pop over to Thailand for a week or two from the Philippines or when I start my visit to Thailand first, I will visit second country and then return to Thailand for a couple days and fly home. In six months I may have five or six 30 day permission stamps in my passport BUT for a total of less than 50 or 60 days in Thailand. To me this means I have to stay away from Thailand for 90 days or pay for a visa from some embassy.

Have I got it correct?

By most accounts that's incorrect.

If that were correct, they'd could hypothetically be knocking back travellers that only pass through and have only spent 3 days out of 180 days in Thailand. ie. One day per stamp.

It would also prohibit entry of weekend golfers, other sports people and a whole host of other people that come and go for short visits.

They count days, not stamps.

[Axel]

As lopburi3 pointed out, the higher ups made the rule already, it is days, not stamps.

I do not know if the computer software is adjusted, already, but it should not be too difficult to integrate a period of stay for each person arriving. They anyway have software showing details of a traveller when putting in name, nationality and/or passport number resp. running a machine readable passport.

Change of passport does not help as the computer knows you and shows a full record on the screen. For a new p/port the officer just puts the new number next to the other details to update the records.

[Axel]

Thats gonna be a nightmare for the officials working at the airport and boarders, because I think at the moment they have one stamp dated for 30 days, 90 and what ever, that means for each person coming in on a 30 dayer they will need to check all previous stamps within the last 180 days work out the number of days your allowed then ajust and stamp each time, my god I hope they have some seperate ques for the v.o.a's, I know its not hours per person but its gonna mount up. They will be getting pissed off with that pretty soon.

Actually, they do change the stamp all the time. Some people get 30 days, others have a visa that allows 15 days, others come on a re-entry permit showing a specific date they are allowed to stay till.

Alternatively, many officers do not even bother to adjust their stamp but just write the permission date by hand if it is beyond the standard.

[Sunny Valentine]

Change of passport does not help as the computer knows you and shows a full record on the screen. For a new p/port the officer just puts the new number next to the other details to update the records.

How can they actually do that?

As a mater of fact I do know a guy with the same name as mine (but a different birth date) coming to Thailand regularily. With a more common name and a bigger country like USA I guess there will be cases of different people sharing the same name AND date of birth! How will they be able to find out what one's identity is?

Sunny

[summerT]

Its still gonna take longer per prson than it had before, plus I think most coming in are without a visa and getting a voa. They still have to check every stamp going back 180 days add up how many days they stayed on each visa and then work out how many days they can give them, then adjust and stamp. Seems like agro to me

Edited October 7, 2006 by summerT

[aussiestyle1983]

I was under the impression that they only count the days you spend in Thailand, not the stamps. The rule is that you can only stay in Thailand for 90 days in a six month period on Visa on arrivals. To me this means that you can come in and out of Thailand as much as you like, every day if you wish, but once you have been in thailand for a total of 90 days on Visa on arrivals in the 6 month period, you must leave and get a proper visa if you wish to return before your 6 month period is up. It would not be very hard for them to figure out how long you have spent in thailand on which visas due to the computers they use at immigration and at checkpoints, so im sure if you tried to enter Thailand on a Visa on arrival and you were over your 90 day limit, they would proably just refuse you entry. If you still were alowed 5 days as you had already spent only 85 days in on a VOA, they would just stamp your passport with the VOA stamp and it would say you are only admitted to what ever date it would be in 5 days, so if you stayed longer than the 5 days, you would be on overstay..............

[Axel]

Change of passport does not help as the computer knows you and shows a full record on the screen. For a new p/port the officer just puts the new number next to the other details to update the records.

How can they actually do that?

As a mater of fact I do know a guy with the same name as mine (but a different birth date) coming to Thailand regularily. With a more common name and a bigger country like USA I guess there will be cases of different people sharing the same name AND date of birth! How will they be able to find out what one's identity is?

Sunny

Some rare cases could be like that. Next criteria: Place of birth. If as well the same, perhaps 'in dubio pro reo' or something like that. (If in doubt in favour)

[briley]

I can't see why counting the days is so difficult if all our comings and goings are on the computer - can't the computer do the counting for the immigration officer and say 'this bod 12 days only'?

[Unknown]

They still do not do it if you go via the airport.

Not sure if you do a visa run through Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar by land.

[Firefan]

Yes Briley. And trust me they have for YEARS been able to see who you are/your history even after passport change. On the machine readible ones/chip ones there is a unique code/number that stays with you only I have been informed. Even if not, they had no problem spotting me after passport changes.

A lost passport 10 years ago kept popping up in PC whenever I arrived despite having had/used 3 passports since. A letter to emmigration via my Embassy fixed that (finally!).

Only places I can see a problem is some of the land borders where they are not online/linked to data base.

Unknown: rule started from 1st Oct. therefore no need to do it before 1st Jan 2007.

Cheers!

Edited October 7, 2006 by Firefan

[Unknown]

Unknown: rule started from 1st Oct. therefore no need to do it before 1st Jan 2007.

Cheers!

You're right, I missed that point, it does not mean they won't do it later...

[siddv]

DAYS NOT STAMPS!!!!!!!!!